Which example fits this behaviour?
Choose a real example for the behaviour named in the interview invitation.
The question
You apply for a fictional UK Civil Service Executive Officer programme support role.
- Job advertThe role lists Delivering at pace and Communicating and influencing.
- Interview invitationPrepare a past example of Delivering at pace for this round.
- A · FormsI cleared 18 forms in 3 working days. I sorted incomplete forms and checked the remaining queue at the end of each day.
- B · VolunteersI explained a new sign-in procedure to 9 volunteers. A volunteer said a single briefing would miss people on other shifts. I added short demonstrations at handover and wrote a one-page note. Then 7 volunteers explained the steps back to me. I followed up with the other 2.
“Which example would you prepare, and what would you change if the instructions change?”
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A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: Where do you check the criterion?
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Read the vacancy and the current invitation together
The strong move. They give the role’s criteria and the focus of this round.
Use every behaviour in the general framework
Tempting, but it misses something. The role selects particular behaviours from the framework.
Choose an example by its result alone
Tempting, but it misses something. A strong result may answer a different question.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I’ll use the vacancy and the invitation to check which behaviour the panel will assess in this round.”
Why it works: The vacancy names both behaviours. The invitation tells you where to focus now.
Step 2: Which example fits the original invitation?
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Prepare A and explain the checks you made
The strong move. This shows how you worked within the deadline.
Prepare B because it involved more people
Tempting, but it misses something. The first invitation asks how you delivered at pace.
Give the total without explaining your actions
Tempting, but it misses something. The total alone leaves your contribution unclear.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I’ll use A. I sorted the incomplete forms, checked the queue each day and cleared 18 forms in 3 working days.”
Why it works: It shows your actions, your checks and a result within the time available.
Step 3: Which example fits the revised round?
The recruiter sends a corrected invitation. This round assesses Communicating and influencing. Prepare an example of changing your approach after someone challenged it.
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Switch to B and name the feedback you acted on
The strong move. The account shows what someone raised and what you changed.
Keep A and add more detail about the deadline
Tempting, but it misses something. The extra detail would still answer the earlier question.
Say you changed the forms plan after a challenge
Tempting, but it misses something. The record gives no example of someone challenging that plan.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I’ll use B. A volunteer challenged the briefing plan, and I changed how I reached people on other shifts.”
Why it works: The revised criterion asks for an example of listening and changing your approach.
Step 4: How do you answer the panel?
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Give the challenge, your change and the observed result
The strong move. The panel can see how listening changed your actions.
Say all nine understood immediately
Tempting, but it misses something. Only seven explained the procedure back at that point.
Say the group improved communication
Tempting, but it misses something. That leaves out the feedback and the action you owned.
See how a strong candidate says it
“A volunteer told me a single briefing would miss other shifts. I added short demonstrations at handover and wrote a one-page note. Seven of nine volunteers could explain the new procedure back to me. I followed up with the other two.”
Why it works: This makes your decision and its result clear. It keeps the outcome to what you observed.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Use the volunteer example for the revised question.
- Because
- It shows a specific challenge, a change you made and what you checked.
- What would change it
- If the round assesses Delivering at pace, use the forms example and explain the checks you made.
Common traps
- Preparing for a framework heading without reading the actual question.
- Claiming a result for people you had yet to check.
Check your answer
- Which behaviour is assessed in this round?
- What did someone ask you to change?
- What did you do?
- What result could you verify?
Last reviewed Nov 11, 2026